With Found Footage, we dig through the depths of archival video online. From live clips to interviews and music videos, we uncover the best visual documents floating around the web.
Today, we celebrate what's probably the biggest music news story of this young year: David Bowie's first album in nearly a decade. The Next Day is out in March, features an album cover that desecrates the artwork from "Heroes", and was produced by longtime Bowie collaborator and production legend Tony Visconti. Listen to the new single "Where Are We Now?" here.
Whittling down David Bowie's video presence to just five clips is an outright Herculean task. So we've chosen to focus on his live television performances between 1969 and 1977. That means we completely left out every interview he's ever given, his iconic collaborations (like his performance on "The Dinah Shore Show" with Iggy Pop in 1977), all of his output from the 1980s, 90s, or 00s (including his untouchable 2005 performance of "Wake Up" with Arcade Fire), and anything remotely silly that he's ever done (his cameo on "Extras", the Bing Crosby duet, his ridiculous "Dancing in the Streets" video with Mick Jagger, all of Labyrinth). We're only scratching the surface here, but we're nonetheless giddy to have such a great excuse to revisit this stuff.
1. "Heroes" on AVRO TopPop, 1977. For the first part of his career, Bowie's iconic brand of cool was delivered with bright colors, sparkly clothes, extravagant makeup, and elaborate characters. He was Major Tom. Ziggy Stardust. Aladdin Sane. But by 1977, all the adornments were gone. After struggling with a cocaine addiction and releasing back-to-back brilliant albums in Station to Station and Low, there he was on the cover of "Heroes", just a black and white portrait with a strange but poignant gesture. On this Dutch TV appearance, with a distant gaze and a lit cigarette between his fingers, he was the coolest man alive.
2. "Fame" on "Soul Train", 1975. Perhaps the greatest testament to Bowie's funkier material was his appearance on "Soul Train". (For context, guests that season included the Jackson 5, the Spinners, the O'Jays, Bill Withers, Billy Preston, Labelle, and Minnie Riperton.) Looking pale and gaunt in his oversized blue suit, he pouted and shimmied to a hooting crowd of afro-clad dancers. As funk songs go, it's pretty stilted, but the dancers could still get into it. (He also performed the Station to Station highlight "Golden Years".)
3. "Young Americans" on "The Dick Cavett Show", 1974. If "Fame" was his foray into funk, its predecessor, "Young Americans", had the sheen of Philly soul. It was a near-perfect soul song, and to pull it off, he brought the studio set-up from that album to "Dick Cavett". The performance features David Sanborn on saxophone and a team of back-up singers that included a young Luther Vandross.
4. "Space Oddity", live on "Hits A Go Go", 1969. It feels almost invasive watching clips of Bowie before he'd fine-tuned his public persona. Like, if there's stuff Bowie wishes wasn't on YouTube, it's probably this. Here he is on a 1969 TV show, lip-syncing his hit song with a killer perm fro and a fresh-faced toothy grin. (It's also worth checking out this 1970 performance of the song, in which he wears pink bellbottoms and a flowery silk puffy shirt.)
5. "Starman", "Top of the Pops", 1972. Here's Bowie in his Ziggy Stardust regalia, surrounded by awkward dancers and smiling directly into a camera. He's backed by the Spiders from Mars: Mick Ronson on guitar and backing vocals, Trevor Bolder on bass (and awesome mutton chops), and Mick Woodmansey on drums. This clip pretty well captures the essence of the Ziggy era.